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House of Lords Business

See what is going on in the House of Lords today, as well as what has happened since June 1998. This includes the relevant Order Paper, Minutes of Proceedings, questions tabled and edition of House of Lords Business. These documents can also all be downloaded.

Questions for Written Answer for 14 November 2023

Tabled on 13 November 2023 and due for answer by 27 November 2023.

Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the human rights implications of the forced deportations of Afghans from Pakistan.  HL197
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the impact of the deportations of Afghans from Pakistan on religious minorities affected by the deportations, particularly (1) Hazaras, and (2) Ahmadis.  HL198
Answered
Lord Alton of Liverpool to ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the level of instability in Afghanistan as a result of the mass deportations of Afghans from Pakistan.  HL199
Answered
Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the conclusions of the Boards of Inquiry into the fatal accidents of (1) the Chinook crash on 2 June 1994 and (2) the Nimrod crash on 2 September 1995, what assessment they have made of the similarities between the conclusions reached on human failings in each report.  HL200
Answered
Lord Berkeley to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to put out to full tender the development of the HS2 Euston station, approach tracks and tunnel to Old Oak Common.  HL201
Answered
Lord Berkeley to ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement by HS2 Ltd that £11.5 billion of two-tier contacts have been let by HS2 up to July 2023, what reduction in this total value is expected following the announcement of the cancellation of Phases 2a and 2b of HS2; and what reductions in the scope and value of contracts are planned to reduce the costs of HS2 Pha… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Berkeley to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to investigate the performance of professional bodies, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Institution of Civil Engineers, in their compliance with their duties under their Royal Charters to ensure the maintenance of professional standards in their industries rather than the maximising of pro… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Berkeley to ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent by HS2 Ltd on consultants and advisors for each of the Phases 1, 2a and 2b of the HS2 project; which contracts with consultants and advisers valued at over £50 million are still operational; and which contracts have been terminated following the announcement of the cancellation of most of the HS2 project.  HL204
Answered
Lord Berkeley to ask His Majesty's Government, following the cancellation of much of the HS2 project, whether they will review the design and procurement of the rolling stock to be used on HS2, such that all commissioned new train sets will be able to continue on to the existing rail network.  HL205
Answered
Lord Berkeley to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the specifications of the parts of HS2 that have not been cancelled to allow train sets currently operating on the existing West Coast Main Line network to operate on all remaining parts of the HS2 line.  HL206
Answered
Lord Black of Brentwood to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Benyon on 10 November (HL11), how many prosecutions there have been in each year since the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 of individuals causing animals unnecessary suffering as a result of the misuse of fireworks; and how many of those resulted in a custodial sentence.  H… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Blunkett to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to restore funding to enable parliamentary candidates with a disability to contest the general election on equal terms.  HL208
Answered
Lord Bradshaw to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 26 October (10507), what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the existing appraisal methodology developed by Leeds ITS to assess the impact of the opening of new railway stations; and whether they have any plans to allow other contractors to develop new methodology… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Bradshaw to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they take to ensure that small businesses offering personal services advertising as cash only pay all their taxes and charges and are not avenues for money laundering.  HL210
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Bristol to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Historic England register Heritage at Risk, published on 9 November, what steps they are taking to support, repair and maintain new entries on that register.  HL211
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to allocate additional funding in the period 2025–30 to secondary and post-16 education providers to address the lag before the new National Funding Formula takes effect.  HL212
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to use schools and nurseries as hubs for delivering health services to support families and meet the health needs of children and young people, especially within disadvantaged communities.  HL213
Answered
The Lord Bishop of Durham to ask His Majesty's Government what level of accountability local authorities have to His Majesty's Government to ensure that they are meeting the expectation of partnering with the voluntary, community and faith sector in implementing family hubs.  HL214
Answered
Lord German to ask His Majesty's Government whether refugee support organisations, in addition to Migrant Help, currently operate within Napier Barracks.  HL215
Answered
Baroness Helic to ask His Majesty's Government how many refugees have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme via (1) Pathway 1, (2) Pathway 2, and (3) Pathway 3; and for each pathway, how many of those have been resettled (a) in total, (b) between January to July 2023, and (c) since July 2023.  HL216
Answered
Baroness Helic to ask His Majesty's Government how many people are currently waiting for decisions on eligibility under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and how many people approved for resettlement in the UK under the scheme are currently awaiting resettlement.  HL217
Answered
Baroness Helic to ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghans awaiting resettlement in the UK or decisions on eligibility under (1) the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, and (2) the Afghan Citizens Refugee Scheme, are currently in Pakistan; and what steps they are taking to ensure that they are not deported back to Afghanistan.  HL218
Answered
Baroness Helic to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 4 July (HL8647) and 18 September (HL9785), what progress has been made in monitoring conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, what steps they are taking to support accountability for conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, and what steps they are taking to ensure that… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Baroness Helic to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 4 July (HL8646), what steps they are taking to ensure that Sudanese women and women’s civil society organisations are included in all peace and ceasefire negotiations relating to the current conflict in Sudan.  HL220
Answered
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask His Majesty's Government what assurances were given, when the establishment of UK Biobank was announced in 2002, that data would not be given to insurance companies after concerns were raised that it could be used in a discriminatory way.  HL221
Answered
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask His Majesty's Government when a decision was made that the assurance that data held by UK Biobank would not be given to insurance companies would no longer apply.  HL222
Answered
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask His Majesty's Government when and how members of the public were informed that the assurance that data held by UK Biobank would not be given to insurance companies would no longer apply.  HL223
Answered
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask His Majesty's Government what information held by UK Biobank has been sold to insurance companies.  HL224
Answered
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask His Majesty's Government what income UK Biobank has received from the selling of information to insurance companies.  HL225
Answered
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath to ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to place in the Library of the House a copy of all current data agreements between NHS England and UK Biobank.  HL226
Answered
Baroness Jenkin of Kennington to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 July (HL9405) and 8 November (HL10550), what were (1) the core, (2) the non-core, (3) any other, and (4) total, financial contributions to (a) the United Nations Population Fund, (b) the International Planned Parenthood Federation, (c) the World Health Org… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the regional allocations of government research funding.  HL228
Answered
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce regional inequalities in government-funded research and development.  HL229
Answered
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch to ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of households that do not have access to reliable broadband, broken down by region.  HL230
Answered
Baroness Jones of Whitchurch to ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to implement the final report of the Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy published in July 2022.  HL231
Answered
Lord Lucas to ask His Majesty's Government whether, in formulating rules for the natural capital markets, farmers and landowners will be permitted to ‘stack’ trades, that is to sell credits in different markets from the same operation; if so, whether carbon credits will be included in the stacking system; and, if not, what effect they expect that to have on the viability of new br… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Lord Moylan to ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence were eligible for a review of their licence, in each quarter since 2021; and of those how many referrals were made to the Parole Board for review.  HL233
Answered
Lord Moylan to ask His Majesty's Government how many hearings were held by the Parole Board to review an imprisonment for public protection licence, in each quarter since 2021, and of those how many resulted in (1) termination of the licence, (2) variation of licence conditions, or (3) no change to licence conditions.  HL234
Answered
Lord Moylan to ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence were (1) transferred from prison to a secure hospital, and (2) held in a secure hospital, in each year since 2005.  HL235
Answered
Lord Moylan to ask His Majesty's Government, of those currently serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in prison, how many have been held in a secure hospital at any point during their sentence, and are (1) unreleased or (2) have been recalled.  HL236
Answered
Lord Moylan to ask His Majesty's Government, of those currently serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence on licence in the community, how many have been held in a secure hospital at any point during their sentence.  HL237
Answered
Lord Moylan to ask His Majesty's Government, of those currently serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in (1) prison, or (2) the community, how many are (a) eligible for support, and (b) receiving support, under section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983.  HL238
Answered
Baroness Wolf of Dulwich to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 28 September (HL10391), what is the “normal manner” for (1) reviewing the efficacy of visa routes, and (2) updating Parliament on them; and what is their timetable for reviewing the High Potential Individual visa entry route and updating Parliament on it.  HL239
Answered
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the proposal by the Motorcycle Association Industry, as part of its new campaign "A Licence to Net Zero", to merge the motorcycle module 1 and module 2 tests.  HL240
Answered
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the existing L-Category licensing regime to (1) improve access, (2) reduce costs, and (3) help accelerate progress towards net zero.  HL241
Answered
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask His Majesty's Government how the Department for Transport co-ordinates policy efforts across its teams in relation to the joint action plan, Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles: A Joint Action Plan for Government and Industry, by the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership.  HL242
Answered
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms are in place within the Department for Transport to ensure that its different teams actively communicate and collaborate on policy matters relating to the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership joint action plan, Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles: AItem text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to involve the DVSA Motorcycle Strategic Focus Group in reviewing the existing L-Category licensing regime.  HL244
Answered
Lord Stone of Blackheath to ask His Majesty's Government whether they are planning to provide mental health support to the descendants of Pontian refugees who suffered a genocide between 1914 and 1923, as recognised by the International Association of Genocide Scholars.  HL245
Answered
Lord Swire to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop the availability of Captagon in England.  HL246
Answered
Lord Swire to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of Captagon in England.  HL247
Answered
Lord Swire to ask His Majesty's Government which NHS trusts in England have reported patients suffering from addiction to Captagon.  HL248
Answered
Lord Swire to ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the illegal trade in Captagon.  HL249
Answered
Lord Swire to ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners about stopping the illegal export of Captagon from Syrian criminals.  HL250
Answered
Lord Swire to ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the involvement of President Bashar al-Assad, family and friends in the manufacture and export of Captagon.  HL251
Answered
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to ask His Majesty's Government how many speeding penalties were issued by police authorities for each year since 2000.  HL252
Answered
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to ask His Majesty's Government what was the average mile-per-hour excess over the speed limit for speeding penalties issued in 2022, or the last year for which figures are available.  HL253
Answered
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to ask His Majesty's Government what was the average waiting time in accident and emergency (1) in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, and (2) across all NHS trusts in England, in each year since 2000.  HL254
Answered
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to ask His Majesty's Government what was the average waiting time for an ambulance (1) in the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, and (2) across all NHS trusts in England, in each year since 2000.  HL255
Answered
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to ask His Majesty's Government what was the real-terms, per-patient GP funding in (1) Cornwall, (2) the South West NHS region, (3) England, and (4) London in each year since 2000.  HL256
Answered
Lord Taylor of Goss Moor to ask His Majesty's Government what was the average real-terms, per-pupil funding for primary schools in (1) England and (2) Cornwall in each year since 2005.  HL257
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat the creation and spread of digitally generated fake audios.  HL258
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement legislation on the statutory fuel price transparency scheme.  HL259
Answered
Lord Taylor of Warwick to ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to mitigate the impact of increased interest rates on the residential property market.  HL260
Answered
Lord Trefgarne to ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what was the approximate number of Noble Lords attending the State Opening of Parliament on 7 November; and whether this represents the greatest number on record.  HL261
Answered
Viscount Waverley to ask His Majesty's Government whether the rules produced by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments apply to the Prime Minister's trade envoys.  HL262
Answered
Baroness Wolf of Dulwich to ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Murray of Blidworth on 28 September (HL10391), whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what criteria and data they plan to use in assessing the extent to which the High Potential Individual visa entry route has met its stated objective of supporting the UK’s growth as a l… Item text truncated - open link to view full item text
Answered
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